Current Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) specifications require that a single Radio Access Bearer (RAB) be allocated per activated service. A packet data protocol (PDP) context activation performed in generalized packet radio service (GPRS) and 3GPP systems is also dedicated to a single bearer service. Primary PDP context activation performs Internet protocol (IP) configuration and the selection of an application point node (APN) associated with session initiation protocol (SIP) signaling. A secondary PDP context activation is needed for each additional bearer service. This means that the three-way handshake process will be repeated over and over for each additional service to be activated, such as e-mail, streaming, web browsing, and the like.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a radio access bearer and PDP context architecture in accordance with the prior art. Multiple RABs 114, 116, 118 are established between a wireless transmit receive unit (WTRU) 101 and an evolved Node-B (eNB) 108. Multiple services 102, 104, 106 are running in the WTRU 101. Multiple PDP contexts 120, 122, 124 are established between the eNB 108 and a gateway 110. Each PDP context 120, 122, 124 is used to communicate with a separate application service 102, 104, 106. The gateway 110 routes the individual services 102, 104, 106 to an appropriate application node. As shown in FIG. 1, service 1 102 is routed to APN1. Service 2 104 is routed to APN2 128 and service 3 106 is routed to APN5 130.
There is a need to simplify the procedure by mapping multiple services into a single RAB and a single generic PDP context.